Online Car Shoppers Unaffected by Recent Recalls of 10.2
Million Toyota Vehicles According to Jumpstart Automotive Group

SAN FRANCISCO--December 4, 2012: Jumpstart
Automotive Group today announced that in gauging the behaviors of
roughly 19 million monthly uniquevisitors across the
company's suite of 14
automotive websites following two mass Toyota recalls in as many
months -- one involving 7.4 million vehicles due to a
faulty power window
switch and another involving 2.8 million vehicles for a steering
glitch
two weeks ago -- the analysis revealed that online
shopper interest in
the automaker's cars and trucks has been virtually
unaffected and that
over the past two months, Toyota has actually seen a slight increase
in
brand shoppers over September.

“Considering Toyota manufacturers the number one selling car
in the
midsize vehicle segment among car shoppers 11 years and counting
speaks
volumes to how fiercely loyal Toyota customers really
are”

These latest recalls follow a series of seemingly debilitating
setbacks
the automaker has faced in recent years, including recalls that
impacted
more than 10 million vehicles from 2009 -- 2011, as well
as sidelined
production due to the Japan earthquake and tsunami and Thailand
floods
last year. Just this week, the automaker recalled 150,000 Tacoma
pickups
for a rust problem that can cause spare tires to fall from the
vehicle.

Jumpstart, a division of Hearst Magazines and an innovative marketing
solutions provider for automotive advertisers, says that if
there's any
trepidation regarding Toyota products, the company just
isn't seeing it
in high volume among the millions of online auto shoppers across its
suite of sites.

Today, Jumpstart released the following data from its online shopper
analysis prior to and following the latest recalls, as well as data
during the height of Toyota's mass recalls over the
past three years:

Jumpstart Analysis

Toyota Average Monthly Share ofBrand
Shopping

Jan 1 -- Oct 10, 2012

9.4%

Oct 10 -- Nov 10, 2012

9.0%

Nov 14 -- Nov 28, 2012

8.9%

Total Variance in Average MonthlyShoppers

CY 2009-2010

-1%

CY 2010-2011

+15%

CY 2011-2012 (Jan-Oct)

+13%

Compared to other brands, from January 1 to October 10,
Toyota's share
of shopper interest across Jumpstart's suite of sites
averaged 9.4
percent, with a 12.0 percent increase in shopper volume from the
same
timeframe one year prior

During the four-week period following news of the 7.4 million
vehicle
recall (from October 10 to November 10), shopper interest in Toyota
cars and trucks across Jumpstart's suite of websites
remained
relatively strong with only a 0.4 percent decline in share at an
average of 9.0 percent compared to the first ten months of this
year

In the two weeks since November 14, when it was announced that 2.8
million vehicles were being recalled, Toyota's
shopper interest has
held relatively steady with only a 0.1 percent decline over the
prior
two weeks

For perspective, Toyota maintained an average 10.8 percent share of
brand shopping across Jumpstart's network of sites
during the height
of its mass recalls in 2009, 2010 and 2011, at 11.3 percent, 11.0
percent and 10.1 percent respectively. Although dipping slightly to
9.4 percent in October, Toyota is on pace to end the year at around
10.0 percent share of Jumpstart shoppers

"Considering Toyota manufacturers the number one selling
car in the
midsize vehicle segment among car shoppers 11 years and counting
speaks
volumes to how fiercely loyal Toyota customers really are,"
said Nick
Matarazzo, CEO of Jumpstart Automotive Group. "It also
demonstrates how
a proactive approach to addressing recalls can help soften negative
brand perceptions. Despite ongoing quality issues, Toyota has
maintained
two of the top ten spots in share of online shoppers across
Jumpstart's
sites over the past three years with the Camry and the
Corolla."

Matarazzo says that while Toyota has fared well among car buyers and
online shoppers in the midst of mass recalls and natural disasters,
the
timing of the latest recalls is cause for concern.

"The competition for the top spot in the midsize sedan
category has
never been more heated which makes the timing of these latest recalls
unfortunate," said Matarazzo. "Earlier this
year, Nissan declared the
Altima has what it takes to knock Camry off its top-selling pedestal,
and a number of the models in this segment have been redesigned,
including the Ford Fusion, the Chevy Malibu and the Honda Accord. It
will be interesting to see how this Battle Royale shakes out in the
coming year."